3 weeks ago
21
Pick of the week
Dying for Sex
Who knows how they would react to receiving a life-threatening health diagnosis? The response of Molly Kochan was striking: when she was told her cancer was incurable, she left her husband for a voyage of sexual discovery. After all, the couple had stopped having sex anyway because of her chemotherapy (“You said my bald head made you think about my dad”). Based on a podcast about the final stages of Molly’s life, this comedy drama starring Michelle Williams is beautifully realised – a story about sex, love, friendship and grasping life’s intensity. It’s full of human warmth and complexity and, crucially, is very funny … which is probably the only way such a story could be told.
Disney+, from Friday 4 April
The Bondsman
Hub Halloran (Kevin Bacon) is dead. So when he returns to work, people are surprised to see him. Furthermore, he’s doing the same job – he’s still a bounty hunter but he has been brought back to life by the devil to hunt demons who have escaped from damnation. It’s a bizarre premise and Bacon spends plenty of time looking appropriately nonplussed. To add an extra layer of strangeness to an already eccentric scenario, Halloran has a side hustle as a country singer. Is selling his soul to Satan a ticket to musical success? Let a daft battle between good and evil commence.
Prime Video, from Thursday 3 April
Bordertown
A Finnish crime drama in which detective Kari Sorjonen is charged with investigating a series of violent crimes on the border between Finland and Russia. In doing so, he is forced to engage with the contested and traumatic history shared by the two countries. And, as is the seemingly inevitable way with such shows, Sorjonen has a somewhat troubled personal history to contend with too. There are undeniable echoes of the Danish/Swedish drama The Bridge in the premise but Russia’s recent expansionist urges give the show extra piquancy.
Channel 4, out now
The Lady’s Companion
Set in the 1880s, this series is a lively Spanish spin on the hardy perennial period drama. It’s a comedy of manners centring on Elena Bianda (Nadia de Santiago). She regards herself as the city’s finest chaperone – a professional matchmaker whose job is to find appropriate suitors for Madrid’s eligible young women. It’s a world of opulent country piles, flamboyant eveningwear and lavish banqueting, and Elena is in her element. Until she takes a fancy to one of the gentlemen herself, of course. Glossy, fluffy, escapist fun.
Netflix, out now
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MobLand
This London gangland drama is a 90s throwback, full of meetings in deserted boxing gyms and Firestarter jackhammering away in nightlife scenes. Tom Hardy is Harry Da Souza, a ruthless fixer whose employers, the Harrigan crime family, give him plenty of challenging tasks. There’s a vacuum at the top of the drug trade, a looming war with the rival Stevenson family and a younger member of the clan causing chaos. The cast – which also includes Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren – is impressive but everything here feels overfamiliar.
Paramount+, from Sunday 30 March
Garnachas: Glorious Street Food
Not to be confused with the tostada or the quesadilla, the garnacha – a Mexican flatbread that is topped with ingredients and sold on the street – is, according to this documentary, “an expanding universe”. It’s a humble and traditional meal but its simplicity lends itself to almost infinite adaptation, making it the basis of all manner of culinary innovation. It turns out that garnachas can now underpin everything from street corner snacking to fine dining. This is a lip-smacking affair, full of lively cultural history and vicarious sensory pleasure.
Netflix, from Wednesday 2 April
Karma
This gratuitously dark drama from South Korea is a sprawling tale of greed, violence, family betrayal and, as the title suggests, cosmic retribution. It follows two men: one who takes on a terrible task for a large sum of money; and another who witnesses what he believes to be an accident. Could the two incidents be connected? Events soon spiral outwards, trapping a series of disparate lives in a single intertwining and inescapable destiny. Emmy-nominated Park Hae-soo of Squid Game fame is among the stars.
Netflix, from Friday 4 April
